Connect with SCAN – A Guide to Contemporary Art for New MSPs

Campaigns - 25 June 2026

Hopefully you are well aware of the many benefits that culture brings to Scotland, in terms of supporting young people, improving wellbeing and nurturing placemaking as well as its critical economic contribution through the visitor economy. Every year those visual arts and multi-art form organisations that receive Multi-Year Funding from Creative Scotland welcome almost 3 million people to their exhibition programmes alone. They work with 35,000+ participants on events and activities and employ more than 1700 people across Scotland.

In 2025, GVA in the Creative Industries sector was estimated to be £5,623m, generating 3.3% of Scotland’s total economic output. Between 2015 and 2025, GVA in the sector was estimated to have increased by 2.4% on average each year, compared to equivalent annual growth of 0.9% across Scotland. Looking ahead, GVA in the sector is forecast to grow on average by 2.0% each year between 2025 and 2035, which is slightly above Scotland’s average (1.7%). In 2035, the Creative Industries sector is forecast to account for 3.4% of Scotland’s total economic output.*

This is just one aspect of a rich visual arts sector. Almost one quarter of our members are voluntary collectives and artist-led organisations, who work on the ground supporting artists and communities through providing opportunities, facilities and access to creative skills, imagination and support. These often exist on the most precarious funding and voluntary and informal work, but provide a critical foundation for our sector in terms of development, innovation and social purpose.

We work with many local authority gallery members and with the contemporary art teams in our national collections as well as some of Scotland’s leading commercial galleries who support Scotland’s artists to exhibit worldwide and who work to ensure that Scotland’s artists are acquired by important collections across the world.

Our organisational members transform their public funding into significant cultural programmes, community assets and capacity, international partnerships and support for artists. Their programmes drive additional investment from public, philanthropic and other funders and support economic activity into Scotland’s rural areas as well as its towns and cities. Scotland’s world-famous artists provide new thinking, creative expertise and inspirational ways of engaging with communities. Our members’ projects address social needs, from the employability of vulnerable young people to the social isolation of our older communities.

Prior to the 2026 Scottish Elections, we published our election asks and you can read them here.

We often work in partnership with other Sector Support bodies and support the following initiatives:

A CULTURE ACT FOR SCOTLAND by Culture Counts

SCOTLAND DEMANDS BETTER by Poverty Alliance

MODERN & RESPONSIVE LOCAL DEMOCRACY by Scottish Community Alliance

CLOSE THE GENDER PAY GAP by Equal Media and Culture Centre

FREELANCE & FAIR WORK CHECKLIST by STUC, SAU and partners

MINIMUM INCOME GUARANTEE by Poverty Alliance

How can you get involved?

MSPs can do the following things to engage with contemporary art activity in their constituency or region:

Visit local exhibitions and studios.
Meet artists and cultural organisations.
Attend exhibition openings and community events.
Raise constituency issues affecting artists and organisations.
Join cross-party discussions on culture and creative industries.
Champion cultural participation in their constituencies.

We can help! Interested in seeing the work of artists and organisations in your area? Get in touch with us to organise a visit to your local studio, workshop, gallery or other project by emailing Deputy Director Helen Moore at [email protected].